Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Ethnic Studies topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Torrance Unified board hears ethnic-studies progress, trustees say they will continue work amid state uncertainty
Summary
Superintendent and staff told the board TUSD has already developed ethnic-studies courses and used a $192,000 implementation grant; trustees asked about state funding and signaled support for continuing the classes even if the mandate or funding changes.
Dr. Egan told the Torrance Unified School District Board of Education that the district has already developed and begun offering ethnic-studies coursework and that the district received a $192,000 implementation grant to support rollout.
The update described courses offered this past school year (including ethnic literature) and positive student feedback captured in a concluding survey with an overall rating of 4.5 out of 5. Dr. Egan said elective courses are available for students wishing to pursue ethnic studies further and that, next school year, TUSD plans to offer Chicano/African American studies and Filipino American studies at two high schools. The grant funds, she said, have been partly used and partly remain to support teacher preparation and planning.
Trustee Hahn asked what the district's direction would be if the state mandate or related funding became uncertain. "If there is no mandate, are we still going to go forward with this?" the trustee asked, noting teacher workload and community concern.
Dr. Egan responded that many courses are already written and currently taught on a voluntary, opt-in basis; expanding the program if the mandate continues would require onboarding additional teachers, but the curriculum and master-schedule capacity exist to support that work. "We are prepared," she said.
Superintendent Dr. Stowe added that master schedules are about "90% done," that student interest should drive course offerings and that, if state rules or funding change, the board would revisit the issue and could pursue state reimbursement if an approved mandate became unfunded. Several trustees spoke in support of continuing the district's work on ethnic studies regardless of the mandate, citing positive student response and the value of learning about diverse cultures.
The board did not take formal action on the item; Dr. Egan outlined next steps including continued teacher training, professional development and cross-site collaboration to scale offerings over the next two years.
